Why is this collaborative project important?

Norwalk has seven museums among its cultural offerings, each operating independently and struggling to a greater or lesser degree with the recession – although museums have operated in an austere mode for much longer than the past few years. Even though American history and culture is preserved, taught and experienced at many of our historic sites, funding for this work is scarce and highly competitive. To further exacerbate the situation, economic pressure in the corporate environment has squeezed the availability of sponsorships. What’s a small museum to do? The idea of collaboration is not new to museums – this has been encouraged for many years as a way to share expenses and resources and strengthen sustainability. It is also a way for museum board, staff and volunteers to get out of their respective “silos” and bridge gaps that are not as wide as they might seem. Enjoying each other’s company, sharing mutual interests and using each other as sounding boards are important benefits as well. Fortunately, the subject of quilts was perfect for our first collaboration for two reasons: one, because almost everyone has a quilt or a memory of a quilt or can easily recognize what a quilt is and two, because quilts contain references to so many aspects of American life (in their design, material and display) that they are applicable across the board, to almost every situation.